All I heard was Charlie Browns teacher (WA WA WA WAAA , WA WA) do you really judge a bass only by it's looks???? Because that's all I got out of your video. Seems to me there's a lot more to it than looks.... Well,That's a few minutes out of my life I'll never get back...... shit, that time could have been better spent playing..... "MY RICK" !!!!
The Cris Squire bass is a RM1999 (NOT a 4001) /// Paul McCartney's Bass: They put a right handed neck on a lefty made body.... Ugly! Rickenbacker's cheap solution! The plastic pickup cover also!
@@guitarstringman7403They’re pretty much the same. Toaster pickup in the 1/2” position, and horseshoe pickup. Much closer than the ricks from the 80s and after.
Plastic? What about the wood, neckthrough, the SOUND, the look, the style, Ricks are solid pieces of art, all those bass players can’t be wrong. I’ve owned two and among some other more modern basses I have, Rick has an unbeatable sound.
People get whiplash from how fast they snap around to find out what that amazing bass sound is. I get off stage and there's always at least one who come up and compliment the sound. One huge factor is the Rick just really stands out in the mix. Beautiful bass, great to play and really meshes with a live band so well.
This was an interesting video, and you make some really VALID points. One question: do you ever plug it in and PLAY it? I have a 4003 identical (visually) to the one you are referencing. YES, there are some "quality control" issues that are maddening, like that crap plastic pickup-cover that EVERY player tears off the minute the get it home, but it's a "legacy" thing, the way an old Corvette or a Harley Davidson are: there's a beauty to it's "madness," and in the right hands (and you respectfully make mention of some of them) it is a wonderful tool. I bought the 4003 for the "string-clatter" of Yes and early Rush...but I can play the warmest, woody blues on it when needed. I think this is a good, honest video. I just think you're leaving out a lot. Thanks!
Why are you doing reviews in something that you have absolutely no clue of what you are talking about?! Who said a body has to be thick to be good. All a thick body does is make it heavy and clunky! The shiny fretboard is NOT lacquer! It is a UV cured polyurethane to make it durable and be able to stand up to roundwound strings! All pick guards are plastic! So what if it's not a triple ply plastic! The bridge pickup cover was changed because it was no longer needed because the early Rickenbacker bridge pickup cover was a magnet and actually part of the pickup! The body and necks are all made out of Maple except for the 4003W in which the neck is maple and the body is Walnut! The action can be set lower than any other bass that I have played!The 4003 is a very versatile bass and can even sound like the vintage 4001's! This review is the biased ramblings of a hater! Do your research first before you post!!!!!!!!!
That really doesn’t mean anything. That is only your opinion. Opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one. If they are really as bad as you say, then why are they flying out of stores. Music stores can’t keep them in stock. There are also very few used ones around to get a hold of. Your review is based on lies and assumptions. You claimed that you knew everything about the bass but were wrong on every single one of them. A review based on lies has no credibility whatsoever.
I've never claimed to know everything about any bass, I don't care enough frankly. The reason that they are sought after is a combination of scarcity and legacy/reputation... In laymens terms thay are a bit of a status symbol. This has no baring on the quality of the basses being currently produced in any way.
You sat there and made up things about the bass. You made assumptions that were not even close to being true. That’s what makes it. Such a horrible review. Many people including me love the way of plays and feels. It’s just your dishonesty that is the turn off of your review. If you had done your research before, you did the review, it would’ve been a lot more believable. The fact that I said that there aren’t that many used Rickenbacker‘s out there is proof that people who own them love them. Again, you’re just making up lies.
Just came across this. Made me smile. Buyer's remorse a bit? OK - don't like the finish, the appointments, whatever - I guess if you've never seen one close up it may feel 'different' if you're more used to Fender basses. I bought a 'blonde natural' Rickenbacker about 10 years ago and put flat-wounds on after a while and have used it on a number of pop style album tracks where I want that 'Beatlish' thing and I absolutely love it. When I got it I played it with round-wounds and it was bright and sorta funky and crisp. Sorry it isn't doing it for you - sell it, I guess?
2:40: you left out McCartney, Glover/Hughes (Deep Purple), Rick James, along with many other major figures in the world of modern electric bass. That said, virtually ALL of them had dissatisfaction with the instrument.
3:40: the necks on the 4001s were not that thick. But the high-tension roundwounds that started appearing on them with guys like Chris Squire were a bit too much for many of the thinner necks to handle. Thus the 4003 with its fat neck.
Rickenbacker 4000 and 4001 are so special that they cannot be called bass guitar. Rickenbacker is another instrument. The 4003 will not connect near the two 4000 and 4001.
That's rose colored glasses talking. The 4003 is, for all practical purposes, the same as the 4001. In fact, the 4003 is a better instrument because it has a stronger neck and doesn't have the old, janky truss rods.
I bought a RIC 4003 and a 4001 because of McCartney and The Beatles. I love the tone and how it feels when I'm playing. The only bass I love more is my Hofner 500/1. I like my Fender P-bass as well, but not as much as the Rickenbacker or Hofner. However, nothing said in this video is wrong. Because it is subjective whether one likes something or not. I say find the bass you love the most and play it to your heart's content.
An example of different strokes for different folks is that the Ric and Hofner you mention are two of my least favorite basses to play, alas! I like a deep, unbound Jazz neck on a P bass body, like a 70’s P bass with the “A” neck option it with an over-sanded “B” neck.
I should have expanded a bit on my previous comment. I should have pointed out that my 70's era Ric 4001's were killer. I purchased a new Ric 4003 in 2010 with great regret.
Rics are one and only. It has one sound and the reason the Pro Family uses these. Picks used or fingers if you will deliver a dirty, nasty sound. Growl if you will. Hate if you must, but the time will come on a recording or live when nothing will cut it for what the sound has to offer. After all some bands didn't get there with the sound clean or sound you hear that this bass is actually breathing. It has a warm tone. Yes it's expensive and so are the others out there who boast of $5,000 to $10,000 to pocket out the cash. You can get close to a sound with a Sansamp to a Fender Jazz, but that's just add on with the money you spend. Not happy with the Pick Guard? Take it off. Or see if you can have a metal one made. A ton of musicians out there will buy a new bass and change the whole insides and looks to make them feel it's an extension of their hands. So it's plastic or to some cheap. The 4003 has a new Bridge, a tone pot that can give it the 4001 sound or beefier tone of the 4003. So it comes down to the sound of the band and taste. But there is no denying it is a beautiful bass and has been around for many years. Without it we wouldn't have that sound that we love in the recordings and there is a big reason for that. It works.
It's all relative. Although I agree the overall feel of my 2019 4003S is a tad clunky, I absolutely love the tree trunk neck. It's the only bass I've played where my hands feel totally comfortable.
If you like the grungy and trebly tone that Squire, Geddy, and other Prog bassists had (Jon Camp, Dave Meros, Mike Rutherford), there’s nothing better than a Rick. If you’re into slapping, or a James Jamerson P-bass tone, the Rick is poison.
@@phlattgetit Exactly, one thing the rick has over most every fender bass is that the rick has a true neck pickup, placed right at the end of the fingerboard on the older models.
Word. I play the middle position with both pickups and roll off the bridge pickup slightly. With LaBella low tension flats. Great tone that covers a lot of ground. @@phlattgetit
I always found the complaint about lacquer on the fretboard as strange. Yes my 4001 had a lacquered fretboard but so does my 58 Precision and no one complains about lacquered maple fretboards
The lacquerd fretboard is a Rickenbacker thing. I DO feel that they over-spray the neck, and when I come back to this bass after one of my Fenders or Gibsons, there's a readjustment period: my hand just doesn't move as fast. I love my 4003. Wouldn't part with it!
I've always thought that rosewood is an alternative to maple because it does not need to be lacquered. Lacquering rosewood seems to be a strange decision. If you want lacquer, you choose maple, if you want a non lacquered feel you choose rosewood.
I’ve played and owned a lot of basses over the last 45 years and I always go back to the Ric. It’s my favorite. As I’ve gotten older and developed arthritis I’ve been playing short scale and have found the epiphone viola to be my favorite. And do you know what they have in common? They both do not get as wide at the bottom as most other basses do. I find a fender bass uncomfortable above the 5th fret. But a ric or viola is comfortable the whole neck.
Glad to see someone give an honest review of Rickenbacker basses. You left out, perhaps the BEST tone ever achieved on a Rickenbacker - or ANY electric bass- notably a left handed 4001 S model, by Sir Paul McCartney, on "Penny Lane", and on much of Sgt. Peppers as well. Dead flats, pick, and his uncanny sense of melodic composition. I'm a Luthier. I've been repairing primarily, for about a half-Century. I'm 72 now. I have many criticisms of Rickenbackers. Like any other instrument, there are both good, and bad things about them. Ricks are somewhat problematic, and I'll list them, is the order of what I least like about them first. 1. The dual 'hairpin' truss rods that I've had to pull out of some and replace, are just stupid, weak, and poorly engineered. Players and some amateur techs frequently strip the rod ends. 2. The abysmal bridge that is both unnecessarily hard to adjust, and the pot metal saddles and weak alloy tailpiece housing that almost always lifts away from the body, are just bad quality. 3. The stupid tone killing capacitor, and absolutely unnecessary stereo system. WHY put a muddy, 'bloopy' neck pickup through one amp, and a thin, wanky treble pickup through another? The sound will just mix offstage into a mono signal anyway. 4. Fender lacquers maple fingerboards- some are horribly coated with poly. That was done to keep them clean. How'd that work out? I don't like lacquered boards, either. Refretting Ricks, is no fun at all. 5. Some of the mid seventies 4001's have routing under the pickguard , treble pickup cavity, and under the bridge, that look like a Chimp did them freehand. 6. They are overpriced, and overvalued in the vintage market. Now, for the things I like about them. 1. They can sound quite good, the newest ones have addressed- FINALLY, the horrible truss dual rods and bridge, and there's a cap bypass that allows for some decent tones. 2. The woodworking and CNC routing is vastly superior than in older basses. I played, and almost bought a lefty here in Reno, Nevada.. but something felt odd- then, I realized these basses are generally 33.25" scale. I can feel it. I'm an old school Fender 34" guy- So, I built my own 4001 S out of some pretty outrageous flamed maple, and it's 34" scale. I love it. Oh, I used all Hipshot hardware..and new Rick pickups, which are actually pretty good.
Every bass ever made is overrated in the eyes of someone who doesn't like it. Buy whatever bass you like and don't worry about the ones you don't like. I like my Ric just fine. I also like my Jazz, my Precision, my Mustang, and my Stingray. I don't like Spectors... so I don't own one. That doesn't mean Spectors are "overrated," it simply means they don't work for me personally.
What I don't understand is after all of these decades and the huge consensus on how tedious that bass is to set up for people, why Rickenbacker won't go to a single truss rod. How difficult realistically would that be?
@@WhiteDogMusicand @oldfriend327 thank God Rickenbacker finally went to single truss rod on 2023 models and V2 Bridge so I respect them staying true to original design and building them in America in California never selling out over seas but come on make that bridge better lol and that complicated dual truss rod lol FINALLY
I have a 4001 that I bought in the late eighties. It had a cracked neck near the headstock, so I got it cheap. I guess because of the two truss rods it stayed stable. I played it for years before the crack finally opened enough that I could get glue into it and clamp it and it is fine to this day. After that experience, when I found a Rick 12 string on ebay that was cheap due to a cracked neck, I bought it. I play it every week, have not repaired it, and the neck doesn't budge. There is apparently an advantage to the double truss rods, although yes adjustment is difficult if it is needed.
How many people say Hoffner is a great bass????? If not for Paul...no body would know. I agree, if not for the famous FEW no body would even get the visual of of a Rick like the visual of a Hoffner all because of Paul or Lemmy
Alright, bit of a long post ahead, but as someone who is neither a Rickenbacker apologist nor a Rickenbacker hater, I'll say a few things: Ric's, at the end of the day, are alien-marmite instruments, so you either love or hate em', that's just how it was, is, and likely always will be. So I wouldn't worry if you don't gel with one! The plastic pickup cover is there because the original 4000 series basses had a Horseshoe pickup, you can identify these by the slit in the middle of the "cover", except it's not a cover at all, it's the horseshoe magnet itself, it's *a part of the pickup.* Rickenbacker switched from the horseshoe pickup to a regular single coil sometime in the late 60's/early 70's, but to keep the vintage look they used a chrome plated plastic cover that could be removed, since it wasn't integral. It's a bit of a shame they didn't make the cover metal, but since most take it off, I guess there's no real point, since those who like the look of the vintage cover would just buy an actual horseshoe pickup. As for the plastic knobs, I mean, Ric's have almost always had plastic knobs since their inception, from the gold diamond TV knobs, the black knobs with the white slit, or the chrome tops. That's just kinda their thing. Either way, you can always change the knobs, so the point just seems kind of moot. I'm not sure how pickups can look like they came out of a toy factory, but I suppose you should ask Danelectro haha! The lacquered Fretboard is definitely a "Ric thing"; always a subject of debate in Ric circles, some like it, some don't, but I can say as of August 2021 they no longer ship with a lacquer over the fretboard, and are now "all natural" (save for some fretboard oil) The body and the neck are actually the same piece of wood, it's a neck-through instrument, the body wings are glued on later. If Rickenbacker needs to be called out for anything, it should be on the account of the Awful "R" tailpiece on the guitars, the now redundant 5th knob, and the neck profiles/widths on both the basses and the guitars!
My first ever bass was a 4001 back in 1978 & it was an absolutely beautiful bass for many years until I sold it to a friend, about 4 years later, which I regret to this day. First thing I did, was remove the pickup guard plate. I never really understood why that was part of the bass. It just covered the most comfortable part of my play position. I've played & owned a lot of basses since then but I don't think anything ever came close to the tone I got out of that particular 4001.
The pickup cover is homage to the original horseshoe pickup. The horseshoe was the very first pickup EVER. Designed in 1931 and used on Rickenbacker's lap steel guitar called the Frying Pan. I have a 4003 and have kept the cover on it.
Did this guy really just list Rickenbacker bass players and include Adam Clayton and leave out Paul McCartney?!? And his description of the build of the bass is just ridiculous. He’s making a fool of himself.
I've been a U2 fan since 1983 and have always noted what guitars Adam and The Edge use. I know Adam had a Ric 4001 at one point early on, but he ditched it in favor of a Jazz Bass and an Ibanez Musician. But like many other professionals, he played many different brands. I recently took in a concert at The Sphere in Vegas and I swear Adam changed his bass for every song! Not once did he use a Ric.
Rickenbackers are basses that I want to love because I love the players who’ve played them and the music they’ve made with them. I have owned 5 of them over the years and every one of them was a maintenance nightmare. They all had neck problems. The guitar repair pros I took them to hated working on them. In short, Rics are a pain in the ass. They sound great, they look cool, and they carry a certain mystique. People ooh and ahh when you take one out of the case. But they suck to own, especially since they’re so absurdly expensive for what they are.
I had the same EXACT experiences with them. I really wanted to love them, but hated dealing with them. you put up with so much with them for _“that tone”_ Nothing but neck problems, & that God awful bridge.
Well folks, here’s some supplemental and practical thoughts from a Ric owner… years later. Along with Chris, Ged, Lemmy and Adam (really, he used a Ric?)… John Entwhistle TheWho, Roger Glover Deep Purple, Roger Waters Pink Floyd, Paul Simonen The Clash, Mike Mills REM, Smithereens’ Mike Mesaros and TheJam’s Bruce Foxton all played Rics - and they all eventually switched to P or J Basses, mainly. Funny enough. (John and Roger have their own signature nonFender basses and Adam had both a short-lived Warwick signature as well as a Fender J bass-in a damn beautiful Irish green metallic). I’ve owned my ‘74 4001 JetBlack with ivory binding since ‘83. It has the older pressure rods before they switched to truss rods. The pickups aren’t toasters but the “high gain” version with the large domed magnet tops-very rudimentary looking. Only a few years ago I switched the bridge to Hipshot’s Ric bridge (what an improvement: adjustment and can finally palm mute properly) and wished I’d done it earlier. Treble bezel tidy’s up the big stupid wood hole Rickenbacker seems to think is alright to leave around the bridge/treble pup; and now a black pup plate as well; I electro-statically silenced the 60Hz hum from the single coil pups with copper tape and grounding wire in the cavity; Switched white guard with a black 3ply one to get rid of the Holstein look and as the tuning pegs needed replacing anyway, I put on some Hipshot Ultralights with the authentic Rickenbacker shape. Slap a set of DR BlackBeauties on and its complete… nearly. The last thing to make it play the way I want was to replace the lower output neck/bass pup with a Nordstrand “Nordenbocker”, for more balanced output with the stronger bridge/treble pickup. Now stronger but still an authentic Rickenbacker tone. For shits and giggles I might route out a place for the stock pup, and install it between the other two as in the Killmister signature. But unsure what benefit difference it would really make. I am not concerned with treating any of my instruments as resale commodities, but would rather modify them to suit my needs or just plain improve them if lacking - if needed. My Ric is now a “Backinblacker” and now looks and sounds pretty killer. But something about it still makes other basses with a “cleaner top” feel better to play. Main bass until 2010 when I bought a G&L SB2T. It played and sounded much better than my Ric, so along with my Reverend Mercalli my Ric is not used (except a few years ago for an REM show and more for it’s novelty) At the time of all the players mentioned in the clip, Chris and Ged mainly (these two were the reason I wanted a Ric, and as a Canadian Geddy was my bass hero), there wasn’t a great selection of bass guitars around. P, a J or the Rick. The Ric was probably sought after because its such a cool and classic design like an old car, and for the rockers had a much slicker edge visually, and was heavier and cutting sonically. But almost all the players I mentioned above modified their Rics to get what they wanted out of them. Scully redid the bridge (a terrible design and Rickenbacker only changed this piece of crap a few years ago after decades of suggestions from unhappy owners), in each of Ged’s, and Glover redid his pickups completely. Simonen just dumped different colours of paint over his😎 I saw Rics showing up in retro type alt rockers like The Raconteurs. They are still played of course, and these days you can improve their output with better EQ controls and pedals. It’s a good bass, and a design from a previous age. It all depends what a player is after - if they even know what that is yet.
I love the sound of Rickenbacker's. I hear complaints about neck width, clear coat on the fretboard, and etc, but I guess I'm not too picky and can adapt pretty easily. Maybe because I'm left-handed and my choices are limited so I don't really get to be a snob. More like take what I can get when I can get it. Nah to me the two most overrated basses are 1) Hofner whatever that thing was that Paul used. Terribly boinky dead string sounding piece of crap, and 2) the Warwick Thumb Bass. Terrible sound and bad neck dive. I actually owned one of those. Remember I usually have to buy sight unseen so I didn't get to play it before I bought it, and spent the return period trying to like it.
I’m an owner since ‘74 and was initially pleased with the black piano looking finish it was “plastiky” an along with removing the pickup guard took it back down to the maple. Love it still!
I’ve owned three 4001s in my lifetime ‘68-‘73-‘79 _(‘73 was my favorite)_ While they DO have that distinct “piano string thing” going on, you put up with a lot of BS with those basses.. As much as you would hear argument, they really ARE a ‘one trick pony’.. (Rock/Prog rock thing…) Next; Alot of old 4001s, suffer from bad necks.. mostly due to nobody understanding the dual truss rod system over the years-and how to go about tightening the truss rod… you can’t just go in there and turn it… let’s leave it there Also, not the best thought out construction .. & those Bridges SUCK… More negative to say, but I’ll keep it at that… If I ‘was’ to enter into the Rickenbacker world again, I’d buy a brand new Rick, it would be one with a normal truss rod system, and probably not 4001/3 model. Just one former owner’s opinion🤷🏼♂️
Ricks are Marmite basses, you either love them or absolutely despise them. Those that hate them, from my experience, tend to say that you can get a nice Ibanez bass for half the price. But with Ibanez (and similar makes), you get a couple nice pieces of exotic firewood and a load of nasty modern electronics that do nothing but make the bass sound like a Casio keyboard preset. I’ll stand my ground and say that Ibanez Soundgear basses are the most overrated bass ever and the best use for most of them are to keep Ray Mears warm!😂
I always loved the way a Ric sounded and looked, but every 4003 I ever picked up to play was a real disappointment mostly because the neck profile was just wrong to me. I then heard that the 4001 had a much thinner profile, but I never expected to actually get an opportunity to play one because even 4003 basses are extremely rare where I live, let alone a 4001. This last January, I stumbled on one in a pawn shop; a 1974 MapleGlo 4001. As soon as I got it into my hands, I was sold. I love it and gig it. Sounds and plays incredible.
Congrats on your 74' 4001 score!!🎉👏👍I wanted a 4001 back in 85',cuz of Elton John's"Nikita"song,awesome bass line/tone.But I was SO disappointed with the bass itself,after buying it at a pawn shop for $175!!😁.Got rid of it later.(70's cream 4001).
A Ric's a tool for specific sounds and designed to be customized (e.g., sanded, parts removed/subbed, circuit modified, etc.). It's not for beginners. Start students on a Fender- or Ibanez-type bass with a front-contoured body and no pickup cover.
Not for beginners :-) Thats brilliant! One of my students came and played it a couple of weeks ago and he loved it. At grade 3 he's a relative begnner...
Take your existing bass to as many shops as possible and/or research/try as many pedals as you can. Find your own sound rather than emulating a sound that has been used to death.
A plastic pick up cover a bridge that is a nightmare to adjust a wait of more than a year( minimum) for 3 thousand dollars? Plus the owner of the company is a dick.I'd Rather play a Japanese copy.The Fender P still rules and is affordable.
Huge Chris Squire and Paul McCartney fan from back in the day. Mostly played a Precision back then. Broke down & bought a used Rick and immediately discovered the amp had go UP about 5 more notches to reach the same volume level as my P bass. The weird fret board finish you reference bothered me while playing too. It always seemed thinner in tone than the Precision and didn't seem to play as nicely overall. Sold the Rick, never regretted it. I think you are correct. But when Chris Squire (may he rest in peace) leaps in the air w/ one in those old Yes videos - it looks really GREAT.
I recently picked up a 4003s/5W, and that so far has been the absolute cream of the crop out of any bass guitar I've ever played in my life. Apparently with this bass they went away with a lot of things that were causing common problems for decades (lifting bridge for example). It sounds crazy good, has a surprisingly versatile tone, deep range, and it plays like a dream with minor personal preference setup. I even 3d printed a thumb rest that I screw into the pickguard (basically the same as the zero mod one) I'm happy this was my first experience with Rickenbacker, I plan to keep it in good shape too. As far as I'm concerned, they have made a lifelong fan out of me
We he couldn't really play. Write, yes, but the songs were mostly musical tinker toys. Quincy Jones said the Beatles were "no-playing motherfuckers", that McCartney "was the worst bass player I ever heard”, and they are “the worst musicians in the world". Pretty sure they understated the number of sings with session musicians
@@pillbug1657 Quincy was talking a whole bunch of other shit in that interview. Plus he's worked with world-class jazz musicians, and of course the Beatles weren't at that level. But session musicians? Come on.
You are nuts. I have owned four 4001/4003s and they are beautiful, sleek, eminently playable. They have the lowest noise floor of any bass ever made. I have since moved to a P-Bass with flatwounds, but to say the 4001/4003 is a substandard bass is nonsense.
I wish you would have plaid it on your video, the things you hate are what make it a special a P bass it's not a Jass bass it's not a sting ray anything else it's not. You should get a metal pickguard nobs.
So right on that disgusting inch-thick coating of lacquer on the fretboard! Completely unnecessary and the first deal breaker for me. It just feels HORRIBLE. Also agree on the body depth. Those things are far too thin and feeble. Cheap bastards, give us more chunk! And that pickup selecter is in the stupidest place ever. And don’t get me started on the bridge! What infuriates me about Rickenbacker is, they’ve made absolutely no effort at all to rectify these little niggles over the years. They’re quite happy to rest on their laurels and do nothing to innovate or improve anything.
Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire…. Why would they play sub par instruments. So, it’s not your cup of tea, (English pun intended), they are awesome.
A pointless video really. No mention of the sound or how the instrument plays. Just an opinion on it being "plasticky". And I'm not at all biased - I've been playing a Fender Jazz professionally since the 70s! Just a clickbait video unfortunately with no real content...poor...
As a former 4003 owner I'm pleased to see that Rickenbacker has fixed SOME of the major flaws in these instruments (neck profile, unnecessary dual truss rod, ridiculous bridge prone to turning into a banana,). Gotta say though that I'm not interested in trying again, unless they also fix the tiny lacquered frets and the giant trapdoor under the neck pickup.
I own a 4003 and it is my primary instrument. Part of the misconception with the Rick bass is that the Fender Jazz has so thoroughly defined the electric bass both in sound and feel. These basses aren’t for everyone. They are heavy and it is impossible to make them sound like a jazz bass or a p-bass due to the pickup placement. It’s a bit like expecting a Les Paul to sound or feel like a Telecaster- they are simply too different. But if you’re willing to let the instrument’s tone drive the way you use it, then they are quite versatile. The bridge pickup is powerful and works perfectly for aggressive music like rock and punk. The neck pickup is way fatter than a Fender and sits like a giant, squishy marshmallow under the band. I quite enjoy mine but understand why some people don’t like them.
Playing and showing a 4003 and talking about the plasticky of Rickenbackers doesn't seem to fit together in my eyes. The iconic Rickenbacker basses (4001, 4001/S, C64 etc.) differ quite a bit from the new 4003 bass. You'll have to try an original 4001 - at least to see how the neck compares to the one on your 4003. You might be surprised.
This is the same way I sometimes feel about Fender/Gibson. A big consideration is how many of those iconic players started with a Ric and then switched to something else for the rest of their career. Rickenbacker benefited tremendously from being a very early designer of electric instruments, and the fact that they'd literally give the instruments to pros for free to use as advertisement. But like Fender/Gibson, it's an incredibly flawed design that they've never improved on because of "tradition," meanwhile artists started switching away from Rics when they got tired of fighting with the flaws. And the fact that they've never given a thought to a budget-friendly line that can innovate the design like Squier/Epiphone makes them over-blown and antiquated. Just look at Japanese clones, they made small improvements which make it a better instrument.
That’s an opinion. A dumb opinion in my opinion. I’ve owned 2 4001 basses totaling over 40 years. People wanting to sound like everyone else don’t like Rick.
I’ve been a bass player for over 50 years and there are reasons why almost all of us use Fender or Fender based instruments. Congratulations ! Now get rid of the damn thing !
I made an entire guitar out of white cedar which is a soft wood and used old tuners and new guitar strings, I made an entire playable acoustic guitar in half a day with only finishing nails, white cedar bark and a carving knife it was easy and i could easily modify it to make it just as good as any electric guitar you can buy on the market right now. I find it funny that big companies will sell silver strings and wiring to some idiot who will hook it up to an amp made with copper wire completely negating any effects the silver has on sound. This is proof that the whole industry is a sham, the kinds of people who play instruments obsessively don't care about the science involved or just never learned it, and so they keep making these dumb, unjustifiable purchases
Love that you made this video. I was fortunate enough to get a 95’ 4003 in jetglo and after removing the pickup cover(installed a pickup bezel) and getting an upgraded hipshot bridge, I am finally satisfied with the adjustability and it is a joy to play and look at. It has its own voice among other basses but it never ceases to be probably the coolest looking instrument at any gig. I’ve heard they made improvements to the stock bridges but players should know what they are getting into before purchasing one for sure. They absolutely do something all their own and acquiring one was a real milestone for me as young bass player. Love your content
U R completely right and wrong at the same time Pickup cover is plastic but the original ones used to have the metal horseshoe Pickup cover In addition have you heard and played the newer 4003W? No thick lacquer onthe MAPLE NECK! WALNUT WINGS and neck through. This has to be the best RICK 4003 EVER IT WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND The other 4003s I've played in the 80s and 90s had no easy neck . Yes they are a bit over priced. In Germany costs around 3000 eur But the reason is that they still make it by hand and the orders can't be fulfilled on time I don't think that their quality would drop if they engage GNC machines and go to more mass production
I’ve owned a Rickenbacker bass since the mid 70’s so mine will be turning 50 next year! I absolutely love it. They’re very easy to play and they have a very unique sound.
I owned one for more than 25 years, the criticisms of them are valid, that said, I got a lot of enjoyment out of mine, made some money on the road playing gigs with it. I was 19 when I got it, that was less than 10 years after A Farewell To Kings was released, and I was just not going to be happy until I owned "that sound". Now I own a Fender Jazz, also great, also love it, but it's a different animal. The only bass I've never been able to warm to was the P bass. They're not comfortable to me, and I feel limited on them.
I own a 4003 from 2013. 3 complains i have about Ricks. Price is about 2200 euros (1000€ just for the name), too much varshins on neck and the bridge is garbage. My bridge is changed, all the varnish has been sanded away and replaced with oil. Good instrument and cant deny the looks. Always cool. I also removed that mic cover
I have a Ric 4001 that i have played for over 30 years. When I first got it, I could not for the life of me get the intonation right. So I had the bridge replaced. Then I adjusted the truss rods improperly amd separated the fretboard from the rest of the neck, and had to get that fixed. I wore out the frets twice (i played it a lot) and the bridge pickup had a very weak sound so I mostly used the neck pickup, which is deep and sonorous as opposed to bright and raspy (it’s the other Ric sound that no one talks about). So yeah, the bass has problems and requires the musician to adapt to it and learn its ways. On the other hand, I also have a Ric 4004 L which is amazing. Good feel, sturdy neck that doesn’t need much adjustment, and two himbucking pickups that will give you just about any tone you could want. No one ever talks about 4004’s. One of the finest bases you’ve never headd of.
I totally agree with you. I've never owned one, and for good reasons. Not only the things that you pointed out, but others as well. I'm a small man and this bass feels awkward, clunky, and uncomfortable to play. The neck is not up to snuff even compared to cheaply made basses. I like a bass that not only is comfortable, but graceful and effortless to play as well. And this is not one of them. This is personal opinion of course. Everybody likes something different. I really wanted to like these basses, but I am NOT a fan. Sorry!
You completly ignore that the rickenbacker is not just a great bass because great musicians created awesome music with it. They choosed to create that music with a Rick because of its SOUND! Ricks have a very unique and versatile sound. Thats why theres such a cult about them! The bass itself comes with a lot of reasons to hate it... And its very clumpsy, some features are completly unnecessarily complicated. But brave musicians deliberatly took upon the burden to play a rick, as a sacrifice to creatr great sounding music.
Been plunkin 50+ years and I have heard more than once that a few Rics are unbelievable players and others not so much. Looks like you got a not so much one.
Interesting point. Some might say the Rick is a one trick pony. I played a 4001 in a small rock band and our sound man said he much preferred the sound of my Rick over the P Bass played by the previous bassist, because the sound was in the middle and was more consistent. Soon I joined another band and the drummer couldn't stand my Rick, said it sounded like "cardboard". So I traded it in on an early 73 P Bass with the thin neck. Best bass move I ever made!
Ah the 4001, the interesting combo of Ferrari looks and Ferrari growliness, combined with Ferrari practicality and Fiat build quality. Looks great, sounds great and great for a weekend drive, but if you want a versatile daily driver that's built to survive a nuclear blast, you just can't go past a Fender Land Cruiser or a Music Man Hilux,
@@WhiteDogMusic I never said the whole weekend. You'd probably throw your back out with it's terrible ergonomics if you played it the whole weekend :) I meant it's like a nice car that might occasionally get taken out for a drive ON the weekend if the sun's out. Or one of those fancy coffee table art books that people buy because they look pretty and are great conversation starters, but no one ever reads.
Around the summer of 2010, I recorded some music with a friend/co-worker who was a pro live bassist, and he left his sunburst Precision in my studio for a week. Because of that experience, I can confidently agree with you beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the finest bass I ever played. It’s the high benchmark for what all other bass guitars are pretending to be. It was so freakin’ buttery ☕️
How can you not acknowledge Paul McCartney? Also why on earth did you buy it if you didn't like it. Surely you would have had to try it before buying or at least returning it? What a waste of money and time. This glorious bass would be much better in the hands of someone who actually appreciates it.
That’s why I’ve owned three 4001,s currently a 1977 Mplglow! They are a great bass!To be honest I’ve never played a 4003 so I can’t comment on yours but I’ve heard the neck is different and thicker profile. The plastic pup cover I agree is ridiculous it is also plastic on the earlier models but most people I know take it off including me! Your 4003 may be crap but mine isn’t! I rarely take it on the road now and instead mostly use my Japanese Fender P/J. Cheers 🏴🇬🇧
Ric has made improvements with the bridge, finally. Intonation adjustments, string height and string spacing is easy to work with. Sill kept that goofy string mute on it though. Way better then a 1975 4001 bass I first had back in the day.
I started as a classical pianist and classical guitar player so I use classical hand positions (my palm isn't near, touching, pressing or dragging on the neck, and no thumb over), so the whole neck thing (size, shape, coating) is irrelevant to me because I only touch the strings; the frets too are 'under' the strings so I don't touch or care about them either. By the way, Fender maples are lacquered too. The cover over the 'magnetic' pickup is plastic, not metal for obvious field resistant reasons. The pickguard has a square edge, rather than a beveled edge, which 'does' cause it to 'look' thicker (I simply ran mine round with my router) not more plastic. The white looks 'plastic'! I think you have a problem with plastic in 'certain' forms, but not in the forms that Fender employs apparently RICs have a far wider range of tones than either of the P of J basses, and the new ones can be easily caused to sound like a P or a J; neither of which can return the favor. The bigger aesthetic problem is RICs love affair with plain white pick-guards (and bindings), which it has come to think of as a signature of sorts. I agree, nothing looks so plastic as when it is 'white'. Come on RIC! Aesthetics aside, it is the sound of RICs that defeat any commentary about being overrated. That's the only thing anyone has ever claimed for them, or acclaimed about them. There quality control is as good as it ever was, which is saying something given the number of years they''ve been cranking them out, and the general depreciation of the American work ethic. That's what's changed.
I have owned 2 Ric basses. One was a 4003. I didn't care for that. The one I did like was a 4001s. The one Sir Paul played. Now it had baseball bat size neck. But the tone was to die for. I got so may compliments on the tone of that bass. The problem with Rick basses (IMO) is you can't just order one. You HAVE to play them.
I bought a Ricky new in 78 ( geddy hemispheres) for 550$ had it 15 yrs sold it & regretted it ever since I’m a jbass lover now but still would love to get a Rickenbacker 4003 snoglow white black trim
I disagree. I own two Rics. Both are great instruments that are completely different from one another. One is a 1978 fretless 4001 with a thin neck and the other is a 2004 4003 with a substantially thicker one. Both sound and feel great. The fretless can almost sound like an upright. The plastic parts don't bother me. Most players ditch the pickup cover because it's in the way of the sweet spot and it doesn't serve any function other than aesthetics. The original horseshoe pickup was shaped like that, the newer ones just copy the style. Nothing sounds like a Ric and the stereo capability makes them extremely versatile. Like a Telecaster guitar, their signature sound is what people expect to hear from them. Being versatile doesn't matter, as long as the trebly clank is there. No. The Ric is a fine instrument capable of an impressive variety of tones.
Anyone who actually tours or gigs regularly doesn’t use one, they look great on the wall. Overpriced rubbish especially nowadays A guitar techs worst nightmare I own a 75’ 4001 and wanted to burn it more times than play it, I cannot believe what it’s worth it’s mind blowing
Frankly I think Fender basses in general are the most overrated. People think they're great yet feel the need to change literally everything on it. If they make great basses I'm sorry but you wouldn't feel the need to change EVERYTHING like that. Literally if people did that with anything else like cars or boats etc. we wouldn't highly regard them. Ah yes it's a great car but you'll need to change the transmission, alternator and junk and rewire all the electrical. Again changing one or two things to make it your own, sure. To the extent people do with Fender basses is another thing
Yes, very little to disadree with here. Fender are without question a company that have relied on their name whilst producing some very average instruments. Getting exactly the same hardware on US built instruments as cheaper instruments built elsewhere, including squires which remains a particular bugbear of mine.
Hello! If you would have mentioned that the low E String is much less loud than the other three... Or that adjusting the primitive bridge tonally is a complete mess... I´d still not agree. The 4001 is a great sounding instrument, I played it for many years.
They certainly are great looking basses with a unique tone, but with old 60s technology. 1 bi flex truss rod would be better than the 2 that they use. Every ric bas i've owned has a kink in the neck at the 12th fret that the truss rods cant remove. Reverse wind one of the pickups to cancel the buzz when both pickups are selected. Pickups glued on crooked. The bridge never bothered me. Usually pickups with the magnet glued to the bottom are cheap ceramic pickups, but they do sound good. I guess they built the 4004 bass to address people's complaints about the 4003, but the 4004 has different pickups in different locations on the body and doesnt have the looks of the 4003 that everyone likes, so i dont' know what they were thinking. Ric is an odd company.
The stock pickups are called "High Gain" by Ric, but are not all that powerful. I have used a toaster in the neck that gives a more vintage sound. And recently have been using Gemini Wave Rider pickups in the neck position. Great sounding pickup with a wee bit more punch and definition.
I’ve actually seen this basses be overhated not overrated. They play amazing, sound amazing and look amazing imo
I see what you did there... Overhated not overatted! Very good ;-)
@@WhiteDogMusic everyone I’ve encountered hates them. Only a few bassists I’ve talked to like them. I love rickenbackers myself
It’s iconic for a reason, that distinctive Ric tone. My 4003 feels pretty solid in the hands. Not plasticky.
AMEN!
All I heard was Charlie Browns teacher (WA WA WA WAAA , WA WA) do you really judge a bass only by it's looks???? Because that's all I got out of your video. Seems to me there's a lot more to it than looks.... Well,That's a few minutes out of my life I'll never get back...... shit, that time could have been better spent playing.....
"MY RICK" !!!!
How do you miss Paul McCartney's work on Sgt peppers, Revolver, and Magical Mystery Tour as one of the most iconic Ricky Bass moments of all time
I think those song are iconic because of Paul, not because of the instruments he played.
Yes, Roundabout. Nuf said.
The Ric basses of Paul McCartney and Chris Squire were basses of a different Rickenbacker era.
The Cris Squire bass is a RM1999 (NOT a 4001) /// Paul McCartney's Bass: They put a right handed neck on a lefty made body.... Ugly! Rickenbacker's cheap solution! The plastic pickup cover also!
@@guitarstringman7403They’re pretty much the same. Toaster pickup in the 1/2” position, and horseshoe pickup. Much closer than the ricks from the 80s and after.
Plastic? What about the wood, neckthrough, the SOUND, the look, the style, Ricks are solid pieces of art, all those bass players can’t be wrong. I’ve owned two and among some other more modern basses I have, Rick has an unbeatable sound.
Well, one mans art is another mans Tracey Emin I guess...
I have a 4003 with walnut wood. I absolutely love it, even unplugged it's loud and sweet.
People get whiplash from how fast they snap around to find out what that amazing bass sound is. I get off stage and there's always at least one who come up and compliment the sound. One huge factor is the Rick just really stands out in the mix. Beautiful bass, great to play and really meshes with a live band so well.
Happy to take your word for this. Personally I get whiplash from how fast I want to put it down...
@@WhiteDogMusic I'll have it! I only have a Jap copy =) Greco is the company
The irony being that yours is probably better made ;-)
This was an interesting video, and you make some really VALID points. One question: do you ever plug it in and PLAY it? I have a 4003 identical (visually) to the one you are referencing. YES, there are some "quality control" issues that are maddening, like that crap plastic pickup-cover that EVERY player tears off the minute the get it home, but it's a "legacy" thing, the way an old Corvette or a Harley Davidson are: there's a beauty to it's "madness," and in the right hands (and you respectfully make mention of some of them) it is a wonderful tool. I bought the 4003 for the "string-clatter" of Yes and early Rush...but I can play the warmest, woody blues on it when needed. I think this is a good, honest video. I just think you're leaving out a lot. Thanks!
Bro, if you hate your Rick that much, then give it to me! I'd be more than pleased to have a Rick added to my nice Bass arsenal 🤣
Why are you doing reviews in something that you have absolutely no clue of what you are talking about?! Who said a body has to be thick to be good. All a thick body does is make it heavy and clunky! The shiny fretboard is NOT lacquer! It is a UV cured polyurethane to make it durable and be able to stand up to roundwound strings! All pick guards are plastic! So what if it's not a triple ply plastic! The bridge pickup cover was changed because it was no longer needed because the early Rickenbacker bridge pickup cover was a magnet and actually part of the pickup! The body and necks are all made out of Maple except for the 4003W in which the neck is maple and the body is Walnut! The action can be set lower than any other bass that I have played!The 4003 is a very versatile bass and can even sound like the vintage 4001's! This review is the biased ramblings of a hater! Do your research first before you post!!!!!!!!!
Well, I kow how they play and feel to me... That must be something!
That really doesn’t mean anything. That is only your opinion. Opinions are like buttholes, everybody has one. If they are really as bad as you say, then why are they flying out of stores. Music stores can’t keep them in stock. There are also very few used ones around to get a hold of. Your review is based on lies and assumptions. You claimed that you knew everything about the bass but were wrong on every single one of them. A review based on lies has no credibility whatsoever.
I've never claimed to know everything about any bass, I don't care enough frankly. The reason that they are sought after is a combination of scarcity and legacy/reputation... In laymens terms thay are a bit of a status symbol. This has no baring on the quality of the basses being currently produced in any way.
You sat there and made up things about the bass. You made assumptions that were not even close to being true. That’s what makes it. Such a horrible review. Many people including me love the way of plays and feels. It’s just your dishonesty that is the turn off of your review. If you had done your research before, you did the review, it would’ve been a lot more believable. The fact that I said that there aren’t that many used Rickenbacker‘s out there is proof that people who own them love them. Again, you’re just making up lies.
That's a very long reply. Let me shorten it for you: If I aggreed with you it would be a better review...
Just came across this. Made me smile. Buyer's remorse a bit? OK - don't like the finish, the appointments, whatever - I guess if you've never seen one close up it may feel 'different' if you're more used to Fender basses. I bought a 'blonde natural' Rickenbacker about 10 years ago and put flat-wounds on after a while and have used it on a number of pop style album tracks where I want that 'Beatlish' thing and I absolutely love it. When I got it I played it with round-wounds and it was bright and sorta funky and crisp. Sorry it isn't doing it for you - sell it, I guess?
2:40: you left out McCartney, Glover/Hughes (Deep Purple), Rick James, along with many other major figures in the world of modern electric bass. That said, virtually ALL of them had dissatisfaction with the instrument.
3:40: the necks on the 4001s were not that thick. But the high-tension roundwounds that started appearing on them with guys like Chris Squire were a bit too much for many of the thinner necks to handle. Thus the 4003 with its fat neck.
They where left out because the weren’t relevant 🤷♂️
Rickenbacker 4000 and 4001 are so special that they cannot be called bass guitar.
Rickenbacker is another instrument.
The 4003 will not connect near the two 4000 and 4001.
It certainly is another instrument. I'd 100% choose another intrument!
That's rose colored glasses talking. The 4003 is, for all practical purposes, the same as the 4001. In fact, the 4003 is a better instrument because it has a stronger neck and doesn't have the old, janky truss rods.
I bought a RIC 4003 and a 4001 because of McCartney and The Beatles. I love the tone and how it feels when I'm playing. The only bass I love more is my Hofner 500/1. I like my Fender P-bass as well, but not as much as the Rickenbacker or Hofner. However, nothing said in this video is wrong. Because it is subjective whether one likes something or not. I say find the bass you love the most and play it to your heart's content.
I bought my ric because of Paul McCartney too! I have a jetglo 4003
An example of different strokes for different folks is that the Ric and Hofner you mention are two of my least favorite basses to play, alas! I like a deep, unbound Jazz neck on a P bass body, like a 70’s P bass with the “A” neck option it with an over-sanded “B” neck.
@@geerhoar well most people play the horrible ignition series hofners and think every hofner is like that.
I've owned good ones, and I've owned bad ones.
I should have expanded a bit on my previous comment. I should have pointed out that my 70's era Ric 4001's were killer. I purchased a new Ric 4003 in 2010 with great regret.
Never tried an early one. Played two in my time and both equally weird.
Rics are one and only. It has one sound and the reason the Pro Family uses these. Picks used or fingers if you will deliver a dirty, nasty sound. Growl if you will. Hate if you must, but the time will come on a recording or live when nothing will cut it for what the sound has to offer. After all some bands didn't get there with the sound clean or sound you hear that this bass is actually breathing. It has a warm tone. Yes it's expensive and so are the others out there who boast of $5,000 to $10,000 to pocket out the cash. You can get close to a sound with a Sansamp to a Fender Jazz, but that's just add on with the money you spend. Not happy with the Pick Guard? Take it off. Or see if you can have a metal one made. A ton of musicians out there will buy a new bass and change the whole insides and looks to make them feel it's an extension of their hands. So it's plastic or to some cheap. The 4003 has a new Bridge, a tone pot that can give it the 4001 sound or beefier tone of the 4003. So it comes down to the sound of the band and taste. But there is no denying it is a beautiful bass and has been around for many years. Without it we wouldn't have that sound that we love in the recordings and there is a big reason for that. It works.
It's all relative. Although I agree the overall feel of my 2019 4003S is a tad clunky, I absolutely love the tree trunk neck. It's the only bass I've played where my hands feel totally comfortable.
If you like the grungy and trebly tone that Squire, Geddy, and other Prog bassists had (Jon Camp, Dave Meros, Mike Rutherford), there’s nothing better than a Rick. If you’re into slapping, or a James Jamerson P-bass tone, the Rick is poison.
I always thought the neck pick-up with flat wound strings was thumpier and more solid than the P-bass tone.
Well said
@@phlattgetit Exactly, one thing the rick has over most every fender bass is that the rick has a true neck pickup, placed right at the end of the fingerboard on the older models.
Word. I play the middle position with both pickups and roll off the bridge pickup slightly. With LaBella low tension flats. Great tone that covers a lot of ground. @@phlattgetit
@@phlattgetit yes, it is and you are right. I own a rick 4003 (2011) with flats.. amazing sound.
Who is this dude ?? Chris Squire, Lemmy , Geddy Lee , Roger Glover would disagree exactly, let people choose guy and kiss off
Lemmy? The man who loved his basses so much that he plugged them into Marshall guitar stacks….
I always found the complaint about lacquer on the fretboard as strange. Yes my 4001 had a lacquered fretboard but so does my 58 Precision and no one complains about lacquered maple fretboards
The Frets on the Fender are not puny.
The lacquerd fretboard is a Rickenbacker thing. I DO feel that they over-spray the neck, and when I come back to this bass after one of my Fenders or Gibsons, there's a readjustment period: my hand just doesn't move as fast. I love my 4003. Wouldn't part with it!
I've always thought that rosewood is an alternative to maple because it does not need to be lacquered. Lacquering rosewood seems to be a strange decision. If you want lacquer, you choose maple, if you want a non lacquered feel you choose rosewood.
totally agree
You can get them with out the lacquer now.
Great players wouldn't have used a Ricky if they weren't great basses.
You can say that about any guitar 🤷♂️
I’ve played and owned a lot of basses over the last 45 years and I always go back to the Ric. It’s my favorite. As I’ve gotten older and developed arthritis I’ve been playing short scale and have found the epiphone viola to be my favorite. And do you know what they have in common? They both do not get as wide at the bottom as most other basses do. I find a fender bass uncomfortable above the 5th fret. But a ric or viola is comfortable the whole neck.
Glad to see someone give an honest review of Rickenbacker basses. You left out, perhaps the BEST tone ever achieved on a Rickenbacker - or ANY electric bass- notably a left handed 4001 S model, by Sir Paul McCartney, on "Penny Lane", and on much of Sgt. Peppers as well. Dead flats, pick, and his uncanny sense of melodic composition.
I'm a Luthier. I've been repairing primarily, for about a half-Century. I'm 72 now. I have many criticisms of Rickenbackers. Like any other instrument, there are both good, and bad things about them. Ricks are somewhat problematic, and I'll list them, is the order of what I least like about them first.
1. The dual 'hairpin' truss rods that I've had to pull out of some and replace, are just stupid, weak, and poorly engineered. Players and some amateur techs frequently strip the rod ends.
2. The abysmal bridge that is both unnecessarily hard to adjust, and the pot metal saddles and weak alloy tailpiece housing that almost always lifts away from the body, are just bad quality.
3. The stupid tone killing capacitor, and absolutely unnecessary stereo system. WHY put a muddy, 'bloopy' neck pickup through one amp, and a thin, wanky treble pickup through another? The sound will just mix offstage into a mono signal anyway.
4. Fender lacquers maple fingerboards- some are horribly coated with poly. That was done to keep them clean. How'd that work out? I don't like lacquered boards, either. Refretting Ricks, is no fun at all.
5. Some of the mid seventies 4001's have routing under the pickguard , treble pickup cavity, and under the bridge, that look like a Chimp did them freehand.
6. They are overpriced, and overvalued in the vintage market.
Now, for the things I like about them.
1. They can sound quite good, the newest ones have addressed- FINALLY, the horrible truss dual rods and bridge, and there's a cap bypass that allows for some decent tones.
2. The woodworking and CNC routing is vastly superior than in older basses.
I played, and almost bought a lefty here in Reno, Nevada.. but something felt odd- then, I realized these basses are generally 33.25" scale. I can feel it. I'm an old school Fender 34" guy- So, I built my own 4001 S out of some pretty outrageous flamed maple, and it's 34" scale. I love it.
Oh, I used all Hipshot hardware..and new Rick pickups, which are actually pretty good.
Thanks! It's just my opinion aferr all...
Every bass ever made is overrated in the eyes of someone who doesn't like it. Buy whatever bass you like and don't worry about the ones you don't like. I like my Ric just fine. I also like my Jazz, my Precision, my Mustang, and my Stingray. I don't like Spectors... so I don't own one. That doesn't mean Spectors are "overrated," it simply means they don't work for me personally.
50% of Rickenbacker reviews: This is the worst bass ever
the other 50%: This is the best bass I've ever played
What I don't understand is after all of these decades and the huge consensus on how tedious that bass is to set up for people, why Rickenbacker won't go to a single truss rod. How difficult realistically would that be?
💯
@@WhiteDogMusicand @oldfriend327 thank God Rickenbacker finally went to single truss rod on 2023 models and V2 Bridge so I respect them staying true to original design and building them in America in California never selling out over seas but come on make that bridge better lol and that complicated dual truss rod lol FINALLY
What’s wrong with the dual ?
I have a 4001 that I bought in the late eighties. It had a cracked neck near the headstock, so I got it cheap. I guess because of the two truss rods it stayed stable. I played it for years before the crack finally opened enough that I could get glue into it and clamp it and it is fine to this day. After that experience, when I found a Rick 12 string on ebay that was cheap due to a cracked neck, I bought it. I play it every week, have not repaired it, and the neck doesn't budge. There is apparently an advantage to the double truss rods, although yes adjustment is difficult if it is needed.
Rickenbackers have always been garbage. They look cool and that's it.
How many people say Hoffner is a great bass????? If not for Paul...no body would know. I agree, if not for the famous FEW no body would even get the visual of of a Rick like the visual of a Hoffner all because of Paul or Lemmy
Alright, bit of a long post ahead, but as someone who is neither a Rickenbacker apologist nor a Rickenbacker hater, I'll say a few things:
Ric's, at the end of the day, are alien-marmite instruments, so you either love or hate em', that's just how it was, is, and likely always will be. So I wouldn't worry if you don't gel with one!
The plastic pickup cover is there because the original 4000 series basses had a Horseshoe pickup, you can identify these by the slit in the middle of the "cover", except it's not a cover at all, it's the horseshoe magnet itself, it's *a part of the pickup.*
Rickenbacker switched from the horseshoe pickup to a regular single coil sometime in the late 60's/early 70's, but to keep the vintage look they used a chrome plated plastic cover that could be removed, since it wasn't integral. It's a bit of a shame they didn't make the cover metal, but since most take it off, I guess there's no real point, since those who like the look of the vintage cover would just buy an actual horseshoe pickup.
As for the plastic knobs, I mean, Ric's have almost always had plastic knobs since their inception, from the gold diamond TV knobs, the black knobs with the white slit, or the chrome tops. That's just kinda their thing. Either way, you can always change the knobs, so the point just seems kind of moot.
I'm not sure how pickups can look like they came out of a toy factory, but I suppose you should ask Danelectro haha!
The lacquered Fretboard is definitely a "Ric thing"; always a subject of debate in Ric circles, some like it, some don't, but I can say as of August 2021 they no longer ship with a lacquer over the fretboard, and are now "all natural" (save for some fretboard oil)
The body and the neck are actually the same piece of wood, it's a neck-through instrument, the body wings are glued on later.
If Rickenbacker needs to be called out for anything, it should be on the account of the Awful "R" tailpiece on the guitars, the now redundant 5th knob, and the neck profiles/widths on both the basses and the guitars!
Some interesting additions, thank you!
definitely should be called out ffor the worst bridge ever, and why they cut out soo much wood under the bridge
Great electric guitar sound at 0:33, which gear did you use? Reminds me an intro of “since I’ve been loving you” from MSG1973
oohhhh good question... I think that it was a Cort as I was using them at the time. Probably with a couple of Strymon pedals.
You are very wrong! I hate to tell you this. I absolutely love my Rickenbacker and it is absolutely one of best bass guitars ever made.🎸
You hate to tell me, bilious going to tell me anyway…
My first ever bass was a 4001 back in 1978 & it was an absolutely beautiful bass for many years until I sold it to a friend, about 4 years later, which I regret to this day.
First thing I did, was remove the pickup guard plate. I never really understood why that was part of the bass. It just covered the most comfortable part of my play position.
I've played & owned a lot of basses since then but I don't think anything ever came close to the tone I got out of that particular 4001.
The pickup cover is homage to the original horseshoe pickup. The horseshoe was the very first pickup EVER. Designed in 1931 and used on Rickenbacker's lap steel guitar called the Frying Pan. I have a 4003 and have kept the cover on it.
I love my 4001C4 Rickenbacker Bass. Plays & sounds amazing. Not "Plasticy" at all. I also own a Beatle Bass & an American Standard Fender Jazz Bass.
Yeah you forgot McCartney and the Beatles…
And his career in Wings, too!
O Mike Retherford do Genesis também. Angra dos Reis, RJ 🇧🇷.
Who....🤪
Me and my friends were playing a drinking game to this video. We take a shot every time he say plastic we’re not super fucked up.😂
There’s a lot of plastic on this bass but clearly not enough! Perhaps take two drinks each time 😉
😂
They’re the best basses made. If they didn’t neck dive , they’d be beyond perfect. But they already are
Did this guy really just list Rickenbacker bass players and include Adam Clayton and leave out Paul McCartney?!? And his description of the build of the bass is just ridiculous. He’s making a fool of himself.
I've been a U2 fan since 1983 and have always noted what guitars Adam and The Edge use. I know Adam had a Ric 4001 at one point early on, but he ditched it in favor of a Jazz Bass and an Ibanez Musician. But like many other professionals, he played many different brands. I recently took in a concert at The Sphere in Vegas and I swear Adam changed his bass for every song! Not once did he use a Ric.
Rickenbackers are basses that I want to love because I love the players who’ve played them and the music they’ve made with them. I have owned 5 of them over the years and every one of them was a maintenance nightmare. They all had neck problems. The guitar repair pros I took them to hated working on them. In short, Rics are a pain in the ass. They sound great, they look cool, and they carry a certain mystique. People ooh and ahh when you take one out of the case. But they suck to own, especially since they’re so absurdly expensive for what they are.
I had the same EXACT experiences with them. I really wanted to love them, but hated dealing with them. you put up with so much with them for _“that tone”_
Nothing but neck problems, & that God awful bridge.
Well folks, here’s some supplemental and practical thoughts from a Ric owner… years later.
Along with Chris, Ged, Lemmy and Adam (really, he used a Ric?)… John Entwhistle TheWho, Roger Glover Deep Purple, Roger Waters Pink Floyd, Paul Simonen The Clash, Mike Mills REM, Smithereens’ Mike Mesaros and TheJam’s Bruce Foxton all played Rics - and they all eventually switched to P or J Basses, mainly. Funny enough. (John and Roger have their own signature nonFender basses and Adam had both a short-lived Warwick signature as well as a Fender J bass-in a damn beautiful Irish green metallic).
I’ve owned my ‘74 4001 JetBlack with ivory binding since ‘83. It has the older pressure rods before they switched to truss rods. The pickups aren’t toasters but the “high gain” version with the large domed magnet tops-very rudimentary looking. Only a few years ago I switched the bridge to Hipshot’s Ric bridge (what an improvement: adjustment and can finally palm mute properly) and wished I’d done it earlier. Treble bezel tidy’s up the big stupid wood hole Rickenbacker seems to think is alright to leave around the bridge/treble pup; and now a black pup plate as well; I electro-statically silenced the 60Hz hum from the single coil pups with copper tape and grounding wire in the cavity; Switched white guard with a black 3ply one to get rid of the Holstein look and as the tuning pegs needed replacing anyway, I put on some Hipshot Ultralights with the authentic Rickenbacker shape. Slap a set of DR BlackBeauties on and its complete… nearly.
The last thing to make it play the way I want was to replace the lower output neck/bass pup with a Nordstrand “Nordenbocker”, for more balanced output with the stronger bridge/treble pickup. Now stronger but still an authentic Rickenbacker tone. For shits and giggles I might route out a place for the stock pup, and install it between the other two as in the Killmister signature. But unsure what benefit difference it would really make.
I am not concerned with treating any of my instruments as resale commodities, but would rather modify them to suit my needs or just plain improve them if lacking - if needed.
My Ric is now a “Backinblacker” and now looks and sounds pretty killer. But something about it still makes other basses with a “cleaner top” feel better to play.
Main bass until 2010 when I bought a G&L SB2T. It played and sounded much better than my Ric, so along with my Reverend Mercalli my Ric is not used (except a few years ago for an REM show and more for it’s novelty)
At the time of all the players mentioned in the clip, Chris and Ged mainly (these two were the reason I wanted a Ric, and as a Canadian Geddy was my bass hero), there wasn’t a great selection of bass guitars around. P, a J or the Rick. The Ric was probably sought after because its such a cool and classic design like an old car, and for the rockers had a much slicker edge visually, and was heavier and cutting sonically. But almost all the players I mentioned above modified their Rics to get what they wanted out of them. Scully redid the bridge (a terrible design and Rickenbacker only changed this piece of crap a few years ago after decades of suggestions from unhappy owners), in each of Ged’s, and Glover redid his pickups completely. Simonen just dumped different colours of paint over his😎
I saw Rics showing up in retro type alt rockers like The Raconteurs. They are still played of course, and these days you can improve their output with better EQ controls and pedals.
It’s a good bass, and a design from a previous age. It all depends what a player is after - if they even know what that is yet.
Unique Tone. Period.
I love the sound of Rickenbacker's. I hear complaints about neck width, clear coat on the fretboard, and etc, but I guess I'm not too picky and can adapt pretty easily. Maybe because I'm left-handed and my choices are limited so I don't really get to be a snob. More like take what I can get when I can get it. Nah to me the two most overrated basses are 1) Hofner whatever that thing was that Paul used. Terribly boinky dead string sounding piece of crap, and 2) the Warwick Thumb Bass. Terrible sound and bad neck dive. I actually owned one of those. Remember I usually have to buy sight unseen so I didn't get to play it before I bought it, and spent the return period trying to like it.
Uhm, not sure about the Warwick Thumb... I would have a 90's bass in my collection.
I’m an owner since ‘74 and was initially pleased with the black piano looking finish it was “plastiky” an along with removing the pickup guard took it back down to the maple. Love it still!
I’ve owned three 4001s in my lifetime
‘68-‘73-‘79
_(‘73 was my favorite)_
While they DO have that distinct “piano string thing” going on, you put up with a lot of BS with those basses..
As much as you would hear argument, they really ARE a ‘one trick pony’.. (Rock/Prog rock thing…)
Next; Alot of old 4001s, suffer from bad necks.. mostly due to nobody understanding the dual truss rod system over the years-and how to go about tightening the truss rod… you can’t just go in there and turn it… let’s leave it there
Also, not the best thought out construction ..
& those Bridges SUCK…
More negative to say, but I’ll keep it at that…
If I ‘was’ to enter into the Rickenbacker world again, I’d buy a brand new Rick, it would be one with a normal truss rod system, and probably not 4001/3 model.
Just one former owner’s opinion🤷🏼♂️
Truss rods always an issue, for the record they do sound cool!
Ricks are Marmite basses, you either love them or absolutely despise them.
Those that hate them, from my experience, tend to say that you can get a nice Ibanez bass for half the price.
But with Ibanez (and similar makes), you get a couple nice pieces of exotic firewood and a load of nasty modern electronics that do nothing but make the bass sound like a Casio keyboard preset.
I’ll stand my ground and say that Ibanez Soundgear basses are the most overrated bass ever and the best use for most of them are to keep Ray Mears warm!😂
They were good enough for Chris Squire and John Entwistle , so wat BS is this ?
Ok, John may have owned a Rick, but he started out playing P's and then went on to Alembic and Warwick basses.
I always loved the way a Ric sounded and looked, but every 4003 I ever picked up to play was a real disappointment mostly because the neck profile was just wrong to me. I then heard that the 4001 had a much thinner profile, but I never expected to actually get an opportunity to play one because even 4003 basses are extremely rare where I live, let alone a 4001. This last January, I stumbled on one in a pawn shop; a 1974 MapleGlo 4001. As soon as I got it into my hands, I was sold. I love it and gig it. Sounds and plays incredible.
Congrats on your 74' 4001 score!!🎉👏👍I wanted a 4001 back in 85',cuz of Elton John's"Nikita"song,awesome bass line/tone.But I was SO disappointed with the bass itself,after buying it at a pawn shop for $175!!😁.Got rid of it later.(70's cream 4001).
Jazz bass is too thin and unstable
A Ric's a tool for specific sounds and designed to be customized (e.g., sanded, parts removed/subbed, circuit modified, etc.). It's not for beginners. Start students on a Fender- or Ibanez-type bass with a front-contoured body and no pickup cover.
Not for beginners :-) Thats brilliant! One of my students came and played it a couple of weeks ago and he loved it. At grade 3 he's a relative begnner...
Coolest looking bass ever made.
So if I want the Ricky sound without the price tag and short comings, what do I get?
Take your existing bass to as many shops as possible and/or research/try as many pedals as you can. Find your own sound rather than emulating a sound that has been used to death.
A plastic pick up cover a bridge that is a nightmare to adjust a wait of more than a year( minimum) for 3 thousand dollars? Plus the owner of the company is a dick.I'd
Rather play a Japanese copy.The Fender P still rules and is affordable.
Huge Chris Squire and Paul McCartney fan from back in the day.
Mostly played a Precision back then.
Broke down & bought a used Rick and immediately discovered the amp had go UP about 5 more notches to reach the same volume level as my P bass.
The weird fret board finish you reference bothered me while playing too.
It always seemed thinner in tone than the Precision and didn't seem to play as nicely overall.
Sold the Rick, never regretted it.
I think you are correct.
But when Chris Squire (may he rest in peace) leaps in the air w/ one in those old Yes videos - it looks really GREAT.
Let’s all give it up for 75 seconds of advertising before we even get to a bad opinion 🤟🏼
I recently picked up a 4003s/5W, and that so far has been the absolute cream of the crop out of any bass guitar I've ever played in my life. Apparently with this bass they went away with a lot of things that were causing common problems for decades (lifting bridge for example). It sounds crazy good, has a surprisingly versatile tone, deep range, and it plays like a dream with minor personal preference setup. I even 3d printed a thumb rest that I screw into the pickguard (basically the same as the zero mod one)
I'm happy this was my first experience with Rickenbacker, I plan to keep it in good shape too. As far as I'm concerned, they have made a lifelong fan out of me
Apparently he doesn't care for Paul McCartney.
We he couldn't really play. Write, yes, but the songs were mostly musical tinker toys. Quincy Jones said the Beatles were "no-playing motherfuckers", that McCartney "was the worst bass player I ever heard”, and they are “the worst musicians in the world".
Pretty sure they understated the number of sings with session musicians
@@pillbug1657 Quincy was talking a whole bunch of other shit in that interview. Plus he's worked with world-class jazz musicians, and of course the Beatles weren't at that level. But session musicians? Come on.
You are nuts. I have owned four 4001/4003s and they are beautiful, sleek, eminently playable. They have the lowest noise floor of any bass ever made. I have since moved to a P-Bass with flatwounds, but to say the 4001/4003 is a substandard bass is nonsense.
I wish you would have plaid it on your video, the things you hate are what make it a special a P bass it's not a Jass bass it's not a sting ray anything else it's not. You should get a metal pickguard nobs.
I think the intro needs to be longer 😂 Ricky's are awesome.
So right on that disgusting inch-thick coating of lacquer on the fretboard! Completely unnecessary and the first deal breaker for me. It just feels HORRIBLE.
Also agree on the body depth. Those things are far too thin and feeble. Cheap bastards, give us more chunk!
And that pickup selecter is in the stupidest place ever.
And don’t get me started on the bridge!
What infuriates me about Rickenbacker is, they’ve made absolutely no effort at all to rectify these little niggles over the years. They’re quite happy to rest on their laurels and do nothing to innovate or improve anything.
Butthead would say that they SUCK!
Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire…. Why would they play sub par instruments. So, it’s not your cup of tea, (English pun intended), they are awesome.
A pointless video really. No mention of the sound or how the instrument plays. Just an opinion on it being "plasticky". And I'm not at all biased - I've been playing a Fender Jazz professionally since the 70s! Just a clickbait video unfortunately with no real content...poor...
25 seconds of opinion in a 5:50 minute video. jesus, man, have a cup of coffee.
As a former 4003 owner I'm pleased to see that Rickenbacker has fixed SOME of the major flaws in these instruments (neck profile, unnecessary dual truss rod, ridiculous bridge prone to turning into a banana,). Gotta say though that I'm not interested in trying again, unless they also fix the tiny lacquered frets and the giant trapdoor under the neck pickup.
Sheesh... Show me on the doll where the Rickenbacker touched you... "The pickguard is plasticky, well, all pickguards are plastic..." Genius.
I own a 4003 and it is my primary instrument. Part of the misconception with the Rick bass is that the Fender Jazz has so thoroughly defined the electric bass both in sound and feel. These basses aren’t for everyone. They are heavy and it is impossible to make them sound like a jazz bass or a p-bass due to the pickup placement. It’s a bit like expecting a Les Paul to sound or feel like a Telecaster- they are simply too different. But if you’re willing to let the instrument’s tone drive the way you use it, then they are quite versatile. The bridge pickup is powerful and works perfectly for aggressive music like rock and punk. The neck pickup is way fatter than a Fender and sits like a giant, squishy marshmallow under the band. I quite enjoy mine but understand why some people don’t like them.
Oh yeah, Rics are crap. Which, I suppose, is why so many great bass players continue to play them.
Playing and showing a 4003 and talking about the plasticky of Rickenbackers doesn't seem to fit together in my eyes. The iconic Rickenbacker basses (4001, 4001/S, C64 etc.) differ quite a bit from the new 4003 bass. You'll have to try an original 4001 - at least to see how the neck compares to the one on your 4003. You might be surprised.
This is the same way I sometimes feel about Fender/Gibson. A big consideration is how many of those iconic players started with a Ric and then switched to something else for the rest of their career. Rickenbacker benefited tremendously from being a very early designer of electric instruments, and the fact that they'd literally give the instruments to pros for free to use as advertisement. But like Fender/Gibson, it's an incredibly flawed design that they've never improved on because of "tradition," meanwhile artists started switching away from Rics when they got tired of fighting with the flaws. And the fact that they've never given a thought to a budget-friendly line that can innovate the design like Squier/Epiphone makes them over-blown and antiquated. Just look at Japanese clones, they made small improvements which make it a better instrument.
Don’t like Rickenbackers? Don’t get one. I have a ‘71 Rickenbacker bass which I LOVE, and so does every other person who picks it up and plays it!
That's correct. I bought it knowing full well that I don't like them. Even then I was surprised at it's lack of quality.
That’s an opinion. A dumb opinion in my opinion.
I’ve owned 2 4001 basses totaling over 40 years.
People wanting to sound like everyone else don’t like Rick.
I’ve been a bass player for over 50 years and there are reasons why almost all of us use Fender or Fender based instruments. Congratulations ! Now get rid of the damn thing !
I made an entire guitar out of white cedar which is a soft wood and used old tuners and new guitar strings, I made an entire playable acoustic guitar in half a day with only finishing nails, white cedar bark and a carving knife it was easy and i could easily modify it to make it just as good as any electric guitar you can buy on the market right now. I find it funny that big companies will sell silver strings and wiring to some idiot who will hook it up to an amp made with copper wire completely negating any effects the silver has on sound. This is proof that the whole industry is a sham, the kinds of people who play instruments obsessively don't care about the science involved or just never learned it, and so they keep making these dumb, unjustifiable purchases
Love that you made this video. I was fortunate enough to get a 95’ 4003 in jetglo and after removing the pickup cover(installed a pickup bezel) and getting an upgraded hipshot bridge, I am finally satisfied with the adjustability and it is a joy to play and look at. It has its own voice among other basses but it never ceases to be probably the coolest looking instrument at any gig. I’ve heard they made improvements to the stock bridges but players should know what they are getting into before purchasing one for sure. They absolutely do something all their own and acquiring one was a real milestone for me as young bass player. Love your content
Appreciate that man! Really glad that you got your bass to the point that it finally works for you. They sound great for sure!
Overrated underated its all a matter of personal opinion and musical context and preferences.
This is why social media is a god-damned wasteland.
Uhm... I would say that the lack of build quality isn't subjective.
@@WhiteDogMusic um, ok, whatever.
U R completely right and wrong at the same time
Pickup cover is plastic but the original ones used to have the metal horseshoe Pickup cover
In addition have you heard and played the newer 4003W? No thick lacquer onthe MAPLE NECK! WALNUT WINGS and neck through. This has to be the best RICK 4003 EVER
IT WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND
The other 4003s I've played in the 80s and 90s had no easy neck .
Yes they are a bit over priced. In Germany costs around 3000 eur
But the reason is that they still make it by hand and the orders can't be fulfilled on time
I don't think that their quality would drop if they engage GNC machines and go to more mass production
I’ve owned a Rickenbacker bass since the mid 70’s so mine will be turning 50 next year! I absolutely love it. They’re very easy to play and they have a very unique sound.
bruh I can't believe ur using the pfp pic I use on all my other online accounts. Scott 3
On which album did Adam Clayton used a Rickenbacker? I never heard about that.
He hasn't as far as I'm aware, having said that, I've never knowingly listened to a U2 album...
I owned one for more than 25 years, the criticisms of them are valid, that said, I got a lot of enjoyment out of mine, made some money on the road playing gigs with it. I was 19 when I got it, that was less than 10 years after A Farewell To Kings was released, and I was just not going to be happy until I owned "that sound". Now I own a Fender Jazz, also great, also love it, but it's a different animal. The only bass I've never been able to warm to was the P bass. They're not comfortable to me, and I feel limited on them.
I own a 4003 from 2013. 3 complains i have about Ricks. Price is about 2200 euros (1000€ just for the name), too much varshins on neck and the bridge is garbage. My bridge is changed, all the varnish has been sanded away and replaced with oil. Good instrument and cant deny the looks. Always cool. I also removed that mic cover
I have a Ric 4001 that i have played for over 30 years. When I first got it, I could not for the life of me get the intonation right. So I had the bridge replaced. Then I adjusted the truss rods improperly amd separated the fretboard from the rest of the neck, and had to get that fixed. I wore out the frets twice (i played it a lot) and the bridge pickup had a very weak sound so I mostly used the neck pickup, which is deep and sonorous as opposed to bright and raspy (it’s the other Ric sound that no one talks about).
So yeah, the bass has problems and requires the musician to adapt to it and learn its ways.
On the other hand, I also have a Ric 4004 L which is amazing. Good feel, sturdy neck that doesn’t need much adjustment, and two himbucking pickups that will give you just about any tone you could want.
No one ever talks about 4004’s. One of the finest bases you’ve never headd of.
I totally agree with you. I've never owned one, and for good reasons. Not only the things that you pointed out, but others as well. I'm a small man and this bass feels awkward, clunky, and uncomfortable to play. The neck is not up to snuff even compared to cheaply made basses. I like a bass that not only is comfortable, but graceful and effortless to play as well. And this is not one of them. This is personal opinion of course. Everybody likes something different. I really wanted to like these basses, but I am NOT a fan. Sorry!
You completly ignore that the rickenbacker is not just a great bass because great musicians created awesome music with it. They choosed to create that music with a Rick because of its SOUND! Ricks have a very unique and versatile sound. Thats why theres such a cult about them!
The bass itself comes with a lot of reasons to hate it... And its very clumpsy, some features are completly unnecessarily complicated. But brave musicians deliberatly took upon the burden to play a rick, as a sacrifice to creatr great sounding music.
Does that mean that any bassist that stopped using them became a coward 🤔
@@WhiteDogMusic 😂.... Maybe they just did cut the traumabond 😂
Been plunkin 50+ years and I have heard more than once that a few Rics are unbelievable players and others not so much. Looks like you got a not so much one.
The older ones arent as plastic as the newer ones, but the new ones are easier to setup
I feel as though Rickenbacker is doing the same thing as Gibson. Letting quality down and living off of the protege of the history.
Definitely 💯
Interesting point. Some might say the Rick is a one trick pony. I played a 4001 in a small rock band and our sound man said he much preferred the sound of my Rick over the P Bass played by the previous bassist, because the sound was in the middle and was more consistent. Soon I joined another band and the drummer couldn't stand my Rick, said it sounded like "cardboard". So I traded it in on an early 73 P Bass with the thin neck. Best bass move I ever made!
The sound is the only reason to use one…
Ah the 4001, the interesting combo of Ferrari looks and Ferrari growliness, combined with Ferrari practicality and Fiat build quality.
Looks great, sounds great and great for a weekend drive, but if you want a versatile daily driver that's built to survive a nuclear blast, you just can't go past a Fender Land Cruiser or a Music Man Hilux,
Look s great on my wall, not saying that I wouldn’t use it for its specific sound but the whole weekend? Not a chance!
@@WhiteDogMusic I never said the whole weekend. You'd probably throw your back out with it's terrible ergonomics if you played it the whole weekend :)
I meant it's like a nice car that might occasionally get taken out for a drive ON the weekend if the sun's out. Or one of those fancy coffee table art books that people buy because they look pretty and are great conversation starters, but no one ever reads.
Just gotta say that I'm in complete agreement.
And I am in complete agreement with you!
I hate all bass guitars except my friend’s USA Fender Precision 4-string sunburst. THAT is a real man’s bass guitar.
I'm respecting your dedication...
Around the summer of 2010, I recorded some music with a friend/co-worker who was a pro live bassist, and he left his sunburst Precision in my studio for a week. Because of that experience, I can confidently agree with you beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the finest bass I ever played. It’s the high benchmark for what all other bass guitars are pretending to be. It was so freakin’ buttery ☕️
Did Adam Clayton use a Rick? He’s used a Fender P most the time. Sometimes a Jazz, Ibanez Musician, Thunderbird, Warwick…
How can you not acknowledge Paul McCartney? Also why on earth did you buy it if you didn't like it. Surely you would have had to try it before buying or at least returning it? What a waste of money and time. This glorious bass would be much better in the hands of someone who actually appreciates it.
Why? My video is about the quality of the bass not Paul McCartney...
i agree 100% - they look/feel/play/sound terrible - and are massively over priced. talk about king's new clothes! wouldn't play one if you paid me
That’s why I’ve owned three 4001,s currently a 1977 Mplglow! They are a great bass!To be honest I’ve never played a 4003 so I can’t comment on yours but I’ve heard the neck is different and thicker profile. The plastic pup cover I agree is ridiculous it is also plastic on the earlier models but most people I know take it off including me! Your 4003 may be crap but mine isn’t! I rarely take it on the road now and instead mostly use my Japanese Fender P/J. Cheers 🏴🇬🇧
These basses are great with the exception of the bridge setup. I got the babaiz's retro fit saddle... it plays amazing now
Ric has made improvements with the bridge, finally. Intonation adjustments, string height and string spacing is easy to work with. Sill kept that goofy string mute on it though. Way better then a 1975 4001 bass I first had back in the day.
haha true
I started as a classical pianist and classical guitar player so I use classical hand positions (my palm isn't near, touching, pressing or dragging on the neck, and no thumb over), so the whole neck thing (size, shape, coating) is irrelevant to me because I only touch the strings; the frets too are 'under' the strings so I don't touch or care about them either. By the way, Fender maples are lacquered too.
The cover over the 'magnetic' pickup is plastic, not metal for obvious field resistant reasons. The pickguard has a square edge, rather than a beveled edge, which 'does' cause it to 'look' thicker (I simply ran mine round with my router) not more plastic. The white looks 'plastic'! I think you have a problem with plastic in 'certain' forms, but not in the forms that Fender employs apparently
RICs have a far wider range of tones than either of the P of J basses, and the new ones can be easily caused to sound like a P or a J; neither of which can return the favor. The bigger aesthetic problem is RICs love affair with plain white pick-guards (and bindings), which it has come to think of as a signature of sorts. I agree, nothing looks so plastic as when it is 'white'. Come on RIC!
Aesthetics aside, it is the sound of RICs that defeat any commentary about being overrated. That's the only thing anyone has ever claimed for them, or acclaimed about them. There quality control is as good as it ever was, which is saying something given the number of years they''ve been cranking them out, and the general depreciation of the American work ethic. That's what's changed.
I have owned 2 Ric basses. One was a 4003. I didn't care for that. The one I did like was a 4001s. The one Sir Paul played. Now it had baseball bat size neck. But the tone was to die for. I got so may compliments on the tone of that bass. The problem with Rick basses (IMO) is you can't just order one. You HAVE to play them.
I bought a Ricky new in 78 ( geddy hemispheres) for 550$ had it 15 yrs sold it & regretted it ever since I’m a jbass lover now but still would love to get a Rickenbacker 4003 snoglow white black trim
I disagree. I own two Rics. Both are great instruments that are completely different from one another. One is a 1978 fretless 4001 with a thin neck and the other is a 2004 4003 with a substantially thicker one. Both sound and feel great. The fretless can almost sound like an upright. The plastic parts don't bother me. Most players ditch the pickup cover because it's in the way of the sweet spot and it doesn't serve any function other than aesthetics. The original horseshoe pickup was shaped like that, the newer ones just copy the style. Nothing sounds like a Ric and the stereo capability makes them extremely versatile. Like a Telecaster guitar, their signature sound is what people expect to hear from them. Being versatile doesn't matter, as long as the trebly clank is there. No. The Ric is a fine instrument capable of an impressive variety of tones.
My 1978 4001 is amazing
Anyone who actually tours or gigs regularly doesn’t use one, they look great on the wall.
Overpriced rubbish especially nowadays
A guitar techs worst nightmare
I own a 75’ 4001 and wanted to burn it more times than play it, I cannot believe what it’s worth it’s mind blowing
Couldn’t agree more!
THE absolutely worst thing ever to set up, play and service. Leo knew.
A point very well made, horribly made guitars.
Bee Gees have about ten Ricks on albums.
B
S. They are great basses and the weakness were the shitty plastic chrome bridge that they finally woke up and improved in tecent years
Frankly I think Fender basses in general are the most overrated. People think they're great yet feel the need to change literally everything on it. If they make great basses I'm sorry but you wouldn't feel the need to change EVERYTHING like that. Literally if people did that with anything else like cars or boats etc. we wouldn't highly regard them. Ah yes it's a great car but you'll need to change the transmission, alternator and junk and rewire all the electrical. Again changing one or two things to make it your own, sure. To the extent people do with Fender basses is another thing
Yes, very little to disadree with here. Fender are without question a company that have relied on their name whilst producing some very average instruments. Getting exactly the same hardware on US built instruments as cheaper instruments built elsewhere, including squires which remains a particular bugbear of mine.
Hello! If you would have mentioned that the low E String is much less loud than the other three... Or that adjusting the primitive bridge tonally is a complete mess... I´d still not agree. The 4001 is a great sounding instrument, I played it for many years.
The sound isn't the issue...
They certainly are great looking basses with a unique tone, but with old 60s technology. 1 bi flex truss rod would be better than the 2 that they use. Every ric bas i've owned has a kink in the neck at the 12th fret that the truss rods cant remove. Reverse wind one of the pickups to cancel the buzz when both pickups are selected. Pickups glued on crooked. The bridge never bothered me. Usually pickups with the magnet glued to the bottom are cheap ceramic pickups, but they do sound good. I guess they built the 4004 bass to address people's complaints about the 4003, but the 4004 has different pickups in different locations on the body and doesnt have the looks of the 4003 that everyone likes, so i dont' know what they were thinking. Ric is an odd company.
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The stock pickups are called "High Gain" by Ric, but are not all that powerful. I have used a toaster in the neck that gives a more vintage sound. And recently have been using Gemini Wave Rider pickups in the neck position. Great sounding pickup with a wee bit more punch and definition.